Damian McGinty pays tribute to his “Glee” co-star Cory Monteith

On Saturday, “Glee” star, Cory Monteith (31), was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room after spending the night out with his close friends. His co-stars have taken to Twitter to share their feelings about the death of their close friend and to pay tribute to his life and career.

Damian McGinty, a native of Derry, starred in the hit TV show over the past two years alongside Cory Monteith.

Before joining “Glee,” McGinty, now 20, was the youngest member of the Irish group, “Celtic Thunder.” In 2011, he left the group to be part of the Oxygen reality show, “The Glee Project,” and won a guest appearance on “Glee.” After Damian’s great success on the show, the director, Ryan Murphy, decided to give McGinty a full-time role in the series as an Irish Exchange student.

Taking to Twitter when the news broke on Sunday morning, Damian described Monteith as, “the nicest guy I’ve ever met.” He said that Monteith was the “guy I shot my first acting scene with” and expressed his shock at the sudden death.

Speaking to the Derry Journal, McGinty discussed the influence that Monteith had on his acting career. “He was very helpful, understanding and a genuinely great person.” Damian continued, “He gave me advice, which I will never forget.”

Late on Sunday, McGinty tweeted, “truly a 24 hours to forget.”

Monteith had battled drug addiction since his teenage years and in April, along with the support of his friends and family, checked himself into rehab to try and finally fight his demons. Yesterday, a representative for his girlfriend and co-star, Lea Michele, released a statement to People Magazine asking for privacy, “during this devastating time.”

Filming for Season 5 of “Glee” was scheduled to begin later this month.